Jordan has announced a sweeping ban on the Muslim Brotherhood that could include shutting down the country’s largest opposition party, after accusing the Islamist group of planning attacks.
The Islamic Action Front, associated with the Brotherhood movement across the region, secured the majority of seats in the parliamentary elections conducted earlier this year amid widespread demonstrations against Israel due to its conflict with Hamas.
A decade back, the monarchy outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood yet formally sanctioned one of its offshoots and kept tolerating the Islamic Action Front, albeit with limitations on certain operations.
The extent of the most recent ban was not readily apparent.
Law enforcement encircled and combed through the premises of the Islamic Action Front following Thursday’s declaration, confiscating multiple cartons filled with paperwork.
The Interior Ministry stated that the Muslim Brotherhood has been declared an unlawful entity and issued a prohibition against all political actions associated with the organization, along with shutting down its facilities.
It was stated that attempts to seize the organization’s assets would be sped up.
“It has been proven that members of the group operate in the dark and engage in activities that could destabilise the country,” the ministry said.
“Members of the dissolved Muslim Brotherhood have tampered with security and national unity and disrupted security and public order.”
The ministry also said that a son of one of the group’s leaders had joined others in trying to manufacture and test explosives to be used against security forces, without providing names or further details.
Last week, Jordan said it had arrested 16 people accused of manufacturing short-range missiles, possessing explosives and automatic weapons, concealing a ready-to-use missile, and illegally recruiting and training people.
The government said the accused belong to what it called “unlicensed groups,” referring to the Muslim Brotherhood.
The Brotherhood refuted the accusations and stated its dedication to ensuring Jordan’s safety.
Wael Al-Saqqa, Secretary-General of the Islamic Action Front, distanced the party from the Muslim Brotherhood, saying it had “no relationship with any other organisational body, whatever it may be.”
He maintained that the party had complied with the legal requirements.
“We always declare that we are committed to order, the law, and the provisions of the constitution,” he said, adding that he was surprised by the security services’ search of the group’s headquarters.
Jordan is a strong Western partner that has consistently been viewed as a stronghold of stability within the frequently turbulent Middle East region.
It shares boundaries with Israel, the occupied West Bank, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, and is currently providing refuge to hundreds of thousands of people displaced by various conflicts.
The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt almost a hundred years ago and operates in numerous countries around the globe.
According to its leadership, it abandoned violence many years back and aims to establish Islamic governance via elections and other non-violent methods.
Critics, including governments across the region, view it as a threat.
